Section 2: Primary References
Anchor: #i1003149Major Standards, Manuals, and Technical Advisories
Many standards, manuals, and technical advisories have been developed over the years related to bridge inspection. Most of these were issued by the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO), whose name was changed in 1973 to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), or by the FHWA. The major publications related to bridge inspection with their issue dates are:
- AASHO Manual for Maintenance Inspection of Bridges (1970)
- AASHTO Manual for Maintenance Inspection of Bridges (1974, 1978, 1983, and 1993)
- AASHTO Manual for Condition Evaluation of Bridges (1994)
- FHWA National Bridge Inspection Standards (1971, 1979, and 1988)
- FHWA Recording and Coding Guide for the Structure Inventory and Appraisal of the Nation’s Bridges (1972, 1979, 1988, 1991, and 1995)
- FHWA The Bridge Inspector’s Manual for Movable Bridges (1977)
- FHWA Bridge Inspector’s Training Manual 70 (1979)
- FHWA Culvert Inspection Manual (about 1979)
- FHWA Inspection of Fracture Critical Bridge Members (1986)
- FHWA “Scour at Bridges,” a technical advisory (1988)
- FHWA Hydraulic Engineering Circular No. 18 (about 1988)
- FHWA Bridge Inspector’s Training Manual 90 (1991)
A more detailed description of most of the above references may be found on pages 1-2 through 1-4 in Manual 905. Hereinafter, the various versions of the AASHTO Manual for Maintenance Inspection of Bridges from 1970 to 1990 and the latest version, called the AASHTO Manual for Condition Evaluation of Bridges, issued in 1994 will be simply referred to as the AASHTO Manual. References to AASHO will be called AASHTO for consistency.